Wikipedia Project Proposal: Unihemispheric slow-wave sleep
This proposal is presented by Dan Polvino, Cole Hawkinson and Mark Portman.
Main Points
editGeneral Definition
editUnihemispheric slow-wave sleep (USWS) is the process in which one half of an animal's brain produces an awake electroencephalogram (EEG) in one hemisphere of the brain while producing a sleeping EEG in the other. It has evolved in numerous species of marine mammals as well as birds.
Species Exhibiting USWS
editA number of species exhibit this behavior either entirely or partially. It has been noted in many marine mammals, birds and possibly reptiles. Some of the species being researched that exhibit this behavior include:
- Northern fur seal
- Differential exhibition of USWS
- Cetaceans
- Amazonian dolphin
- Bottlenose dolphin
- Porpoise
- White whale
- Birds
- Common swift
- White-crowned sparrow
- Domestic chick
- Mallard ducks
Physiology
edit- Unilateral eye closure opposite to hemisphere exhibiting sleeping EEG
- Open eye directed towards suspected attack of predator
- Role of Acetylcholine
- Temperature regulation during periods of USWS
- include cooling of the central nervous systems
Benefits
edit- Adaptation to high-risk predation
- Survival of the fittest adaptation
- Can be regulated based on surroundings
- Auditory vigilance
- Surfacing for air while sleeping in marine mammals
- Ability to rest during long flights
Anatomical Variations
edit- Size of corpus collasum
- Crossing of nerves at optic chiasm
- Circle of Willis
Plan of Research
editOur group will be meeting throughout the semester in order to organize material found during independent research as well as compile new information. This will be collaboratively added to the Wikipedia page.
References
edit- Lapierre, Jennifer L.; Peter O. Kosenko; Oleg I. Lyamin; Tohru Kodama; Lev M. Mukhametov; and Jerome M. Siegel (2007). “Cortical Acetylcholine Release Is Lateralized during Asymmetrical Slow-Wave Sleep in Northern Fur Seals”. The Journal of Neuroscience 27(44): 11999-12006.
- Mascetti, Gian; Marina Rugger (01 January 2007). "Monocular-unihemispheric sleep and visual discrimination learning in the domestic chick". Experimental Brain Research (14-4819): 70-84.
- McGinty, Dennis; Ronald Szymusiak (December 1990). "Keeping cool: a hypothesis about the mechanisms and functions of slow-wave sleep". Trends in Neurosciences (Vol. 13, Issue 12): 480-487.
- Mukhametov, Lev M. (18 August 1987) "Unihemispheric slow-wave sleep in the Amazonian dolphin, Inia geoffrensis". Neuroscience Letters (Volume 79, Issues 1-2) 128-132.
- Rattenborg, Neils C.; Steven L. Lima and Charles J. Amlaner (2 February 1999). "Half-awake to the risk of predation". Nature 397 (6718): 397–398.
- Rattenborg, Neils C.; C.J. Amlaner; S.L Lima (2000). “Behavioral, neurophysiological and evolutionary perspectives on unihemispheric sleep”. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 24: 817-842.
- Rattenborg, Neils C. (2006) Do birds sleep in flight? Naturwissenschaften. 93:413-425.
- Ridgway, Sam; Don Carder; James Finneran; Mandy Keogh; Tricia Kamolnick; Mark Todd; Allen Goldblatt (2006). “Dolphin Continuous Auditory Vigilance for Five Days” The Journal of Experimental Biology 209: 3621-3628.
- Walter, Timothy J; Uma Marar (2007). “Sleeping With One Eye Open”. Capitol Sleep Medicine Newsletter 2(6).